republic-os/legal/us/code/title-07/chapter-85/section-5403.md

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LegalText	7 U.S.C. § 5403	Environmental Quality Policy Statement	us	united_states_code	code_section	7	AGRICULTURE	85	ADMINISTRATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS	5403	7 U.S.C. § 5403	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc07@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t7/s5403	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-07/usc07.xml	6c009d95abc48cb78ff3f48d261fd6c09bedbe27b062e5c249a527ddfa4c498c	50edab1679a711653797362c0aeb8f2273303fe473fb7fa16df1ee76bdd6e984	2560e3bbaed713e9d2db1fd4c3d7f75cb9e45889f5739e61d020417b3a5bdb6a	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

7 U.S.C. § 5403 - Environmental Quality Policy Statement

Text

(a) Environmental Quality Policy Statement, implementation plan, and annual report (1) Policy statement The Council shall develop an Environmental Quality Policy Statement that identifies goals and objectives for addressing the effects of agriculture on environmental quality. The policy statement shall be based upon an assessment, in accordance with paragraph (2), of the current status and level of effort, in terms of staff and funding, of programs at the Department of Agriculture to evaluate, prevent, and mitigate environmental problems that may result from agricultural production. The policy statement shall be revised at least every 5 years.

(2) Assessment The assessment under paragraph (1) shall include:

(A) Detailed descriptions of the roles of the involved Departmental agencies.

(B) A description of current efforts to coordinate the individual activities of each of the involved departmental agencies.

(C) Recommendations for precluding any undesirable duplication of efforts within the Department and among the Department and other Federal and State programs.

(D) Specific recommendations for new initiatives in monitoring, research, extension, and technical assistance efforts to address present and potential environmental quality problems.

The assessment may incorporate existing documents and planning processes within the Department.

(b) Implementation plan The Director, subject to the approval of the Council, shall prepare a plan to implement the Environmental Quality Policy Statement. The plan shall include an assessment of the activities of each departmental agency to mitigate or reduce any negative effects on environmental quality of agricultural policies, programs, and practices under their respective jurisdictions and shall describe in detail new departmental and agency-specific initiatives intended to achieve the goals and objectives of the policy statement. The plan shall be revised at least every 5 years.

(c) Annual environmental quality report Not later than January 31, 1992, and annually thereafter, the Council, through the Director, shall prepare and submit an annual report to the Congress, other appropriate Federal and State agencies, and the public on the progress being made toward the goals and objectives established in the Environmental Quality Policy Statement. The report shall also include—

(1) a review of the environmental activities and initiatives of the Department during the preceding year;

(2) specific action taken to coordinate the environmental programs of the Department with programs of other Federal agencies and related State programs; and

(3) such recommendations as the Secretary considers appropriate regarding current or additional environmental protection programs, initiatives, or policies that will balance the needs of production agriculture while addressing environmental concerns.

(d) Authorization of appropriations There are hereby authorized to be appropriated annually not to exceed $2,000,000 to carry out this chapter.

(Pub. L. 101–624, title XIV, § 1473, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3620; Pub. L. 102–237, title II, § 201(d), Dec. 13, 1991, 105 Stat. 1847.)

Notes

Editorial Notes

Amendments1991—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 102–237, § 201(d)(1), substituted “paragraph (2)” for “subparagraph (B)”. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 102–237, § 201(d)(2), substituted “paragraph (1)” for “subparagraph (A)” in introductory provisions.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1991 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 102–237 effective as if included in the provision of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101–624, to which the amendment relates, see section 1101(b)(1) of Pub. L. 102–237, set out as a note under section 1421 of this title.

Termination of Reporting RequirementsFor termination, effective May 15, 2000, of provisions in subsec. (c) of this section relating to submittal of annual report to Congress, see section 3003 of Pub. L. 104–66, as amended, set out as a note under section 1113 of Title 31, Money and Finance, and page 49 of House Document No. 103–7.